


Maki needs to go to sleep

by paralogism



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, Fluff, clearly written by someone who doesn't drink coffee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-25 23:36:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12046656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paralogism/pseuds/paralogism
Summary: Nico prepares a ‘special’ drink for Maki.





	Maki needs to go to sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Just shaking off some rust which shouldn't really be there in the first place because holy crap I've been busy lately. And also procrastinating at the same time, yay!

Maki opened the door and entered the clubroom - from the looks of things, the only other occupant was a pink cardigan draped over the chair at the head of the table. But she didn’t have to wait long for their owner to arrive a moment later, peeking into the room as Maki made her way towards her chair.

‘Oh, it’s Maki-chan,’ said Nico. ‘Would you like a drink?  I was just making some tea in the kitchen.’

‘Some coffee would be great,’ Maki replied.

‘Coming right up!’

Hearing Nico bustle back down the hallway, Maki settled into her seat and yawned as she pulled out a textbook, a pen and a notepad to complete her schoolwork. Then after finishing that, she’d head off to the music room and work on a new composition. And then she’d go back home and do her tutoring homework…

She tapped her pen idly against the book cover. Where was everyone else today, anyway?

Returning with tray and cups in hand, Nico set the tray next to Maki before drawing the blinds open, the sunshine basking the room in a pleasant warmth. Maki yawned again.

‘Looks like someone could use that coffee,’ said Nico, giggling as she handed Maki her favourite mug. ‘Filled with Nico-Nii’s love, a special drink for her special junior!’

‘Gross,’ Maki said nonchalantly, before taking a large swig of her drink. ‘But at least the coffee tastes nice.’

Nico narrowed her eyes. ‘I wish adding sugar would make you less bitter.’

‘Unfortunately that’s not-‘ Maki stopped her retort, making a sudden wince and clutching at her head.

‘Oh?’ asked Nico, strangely lacking any sort of surprise. ‘What’s wrong, Maki-chan?’

‘Nico-chan…’ Maki slurred, peering into her mug. ‘Is there something different with this coffee?’

‘I don’t understand,’ Nico replied innocently. ‘What do you mean?’

‘My head’s getting heavy and everything’s becoming fuzzy from drinking it…’ Eyes widening with realisation, Maki gasped as she looked at Nico. ‘Wait, don’t tell me?!’

‘That’s right,’ said Nico, finally revealing a dangerous smirk. ‘You figured it out quickly, as expected of the future doctor-to-be.’ She leaned over the table towards Maki – close enough to see her purple eyes all hazy and out of focus. ‘I did something different with your coffee, Maki-chan. Tell me: what’s your diagnosis?’

Struggling, Maki could feel every brain cell straining, every synapse swimming in the puddle of thoughts her mental processes were melting into.

Becoming sleepy after Nico added something to her coffee?

She realised that there was only one answer.

‘The coffee…’ she mumbled, head slumping onto the textbook with a thud. ‘It’s… it’s _decaffeinated_ …’

And that was all she could say before dozing off into a quiet sleep.

Nico pumped her fist in celebration: the make-Maki-chan-finally-get-some-damn-rest plan™ was a success.

She had noticed it recently - always yawning, bags growing under her eyes, Nico didn’t need medical training to tell that Maki was exhausted and remedying her problems with coffee. If Maki were to ever get a papercut, Nico would’ve checked to make sure she bled red instead of black.

So Nico had gotten everyone to agree to a rest day, as she now made sure Maki actually kept to it.

‘Oh, Maki-chan,’ Nico said, gently raising Maki’s head to wedge Kotori’s loaned pillow underneath. ‘You can do everything else so well, but you just can’t take care of yourself. But don’t worry! Nico’s here to care of you instead.’

The finishing touch was the blanket (what _doesn’t_ Nico have in her bag), which she took care in wrapping around Maki’s shoulders. Maki didn’t stir an inch.

‘And… done!’

One graceful bounce backwards, she took a moment to admire her handiwork. And not because she was distracted by Maki’s borderline angelic sleeping face, looking so serene.

So even Maki can look like that sometimes, instead of permanently looking like she woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Probably because she had never went to bed in the first place, Nico mused.

It was quiet: Nico was struck with the thought that the only sound she could hear Maki’s breathing, and the room suddenly felt too still after that. It’s just not fair – there’s meant to be birds or the sound of sports teams going through afternoon practice or something.

It’s not fair that Maki gets to be so gosh darn cute without even doing anything.

So the fact that she’s only now noticing they’re the only two people in the room, and the only two who will be today makes her give an awkward, nervous swallow. As good time as any to reflect: why was she doing this, exactly? Putting herself through the strangely accelerated heartbeat that she hadn’t planned for?

She was just used to taking care of other people, like her siblings. That must’ve been it. That was all there was to it.

It wasn’t like Maki was special or anything…

Nico was just looking after her fellow μ’s member. Just taking care of her junior, who happened to be completely adorable and precious and beautiful and-

She shook her head to clear those thoughts (where did they even come from?), then looked at Maki again, this time with a different idea in mind.

Nico had self-restraint. She only kind of wanted to mess with a sleeping Maki. Okay, more than kind of. But taking one last look at Maki’s peaceful face was enough for her to decide not to ruin her rest.

Taking a photo to use as her phone background, though, was completely fine.

* * *

 

A few hours later, Nico logged off the clubroom computer, spun her chair 180 degrees and made a grumpy look at the still sound asleep Maki.

‘It’s been three hours, Maki-chan. How long are you going to take?’

Maki answered with only silence. That didn’t deter Nico from continuing.

‘You really were tired, huh?’ Nico gave a sigh, which somehow turned into a yawn by the end. ‘And now _I’m_ tired as well. What are you going to do about that?’

Nothing, apparently, if Maki’s non-response was anything to go by. So Nico decided to take matters into her own hands.

To let you in on a secret, Nico wasn’t the coffee drinking type. (It makes your skin dehydrated, don’t you know?)  

Regardless, she picked up Maki’s long forgotten mug, took a sip of it and winced. And that wasn’t even the worst part. ‘Ah, I forgot. It’s _decaffeinated_.’

She crossed her arms in front of her and shivered, quickly retrieving her cardigan and buttoning it up. Still not warm enough, but that wasn’t reason enough to take the blanket from Maki.

Maki…

Nico then realised there was one other source of warmth in the room. And as she folded her arms onto the desk and rested her head on top, she had one last thought as her eyes began to close.

‘Wasn’t that an indirect kiss?’ 

* * *

 

‘Nnngh…’

Eyelids fluttering open, Maki found herself with her head to one side and resting on a yellow pillow, slightly drooled upon. She felt so warm, the kind of warmth that doesn’t seem worth waking up from, but she groggily rubbed her eyes anyway before clutching at the object draped around her shoulders.

‘A blanket…?’ Gingerly, she got herself upright. ‘Did I fall asleep?’ she asked, figuring out the answer a moment later. ‘Oh. That’s right. Damnit, Nico-chan.’

Speaking of which, where did Nico go? It was already early evening, so her first thought was that she had gone home. And when she felt something snuggle close against her shoulder, her second thought was that Nico had burrowed her way beneath Maki’s arm instead. Maki yanked the blanket to cover Nico’s shoulder instead.

‘You’re the one who gets cold all the time, Nico-chan.’

She retrieved her phone from her blazer pocket and looked at the time. Then she put in back in her pocket. Then she checked it again to make sure she was reading it right.

‘I slept for that long?!’ she shouted, before catching herself and making sure Nico was still asleep. She continued in a whisper, ‘But I’ve got to work on my composition, and then finish off my homework, then…’

Trailing off, Maki’s attention turned to Nico instead. With her guard down and snoozing on the table, it was difficult to believe that she was the same girl who had tricked her earlier. She even managed to look grumpy as she slept. Giggling, Maki reached for her phone to capture the moment for herself.

Somehow, whatever work Maki had planned didn’t seem to matter right now. Instead, she began the delicate operation of placing Kotori’s pillow under Nico’s head without waking her up. And then Maki had a thought: just the fact that they existed meant Nico went to the trouble of preparing a blanket and pillow beforehand…

Rationally, the idea of a girl two years her senior having to trick her into sleeping and tucking her into a fluffy pink blanket should’ve been embarrassing. And it was, a little.  

Yet Maki didn’t dislike that idea.

Why was she blushing now that she thought about it? And her heart beating a little harder? She ran through the options, but she couldn’t find a medical term for what she felt.

‘Hey, um… Thanks for looking after me, Nico-chan.’

Nico had brought her a pillow and a blanket. (And even decaffeinated coffee.)

What could Maki give her in return?

Blushing harder now, she stooped to place the lightest of kisses on Nico’s cheek, before high-tailing out of the room. As soon as the door closed, Nico stirred from her sleep and groaned.

‘I wish you’d do that when I’m awake, Maki-chan.’


End file.
